Thursday, January 7, 2010

Impossibilities

The best thing about writing is the fact that we can make the impossible possible.

For example, I was watching Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat the other day with my girl kidlet. She's sort of a freak for anything dancing and singing related. And I realized that I am too. I was all belting out these songs and stuff, and I got a little teary.

Sheesh. Now I'm crying at musicals!

Anyway, this is why. I would love to be on stage, singing and dancing and wearing all that stage makeup. Maybe. But I never will -- and my complete lack of dancing ability and my tone deafness are only two reasons why.

Becoming a Broadway performer is an impossibility.

But through writing, I can do anything!

Anything that doesn't require research, that is. *wink* (Hey, I'm nothing if not realistic.)

What about you guys? What can you do while writing that you would/could never do in real life?

50 comments:

Anonymous said...

OH yeah, I'd always wanted to be a professional athlete. So, one of my novels is about that--with a paranormal twist of course. LOL.

Great post!

Anonymous said...

I can sail a pirate ship, solve a mystery (they don't come along often in real life unless I include: the case of the missing DS) and tap into my deep psychological powers that otherwise aren't really there : )

I can also use my witty sarcasm in situations that cry out for snarkiness, but don't really work in the real world if I want to continue living here.

Thank God for writing!

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

i can tel people the crazy things in my mind without scaring them

Liza said...

I'm still learning how to open up my mind to the possibilities...you've made me realize, through this post, that I need to step out of my comfort zone let my imagination fly much more.

Unknown said...

I know it is all too common: I would fly. Run effortless....

Cole Gibsen said...

I've always ALWAYS wanted to be a standup comedian. I gave it a shot once and it was...very not good. LOL. Through my writing I still get to make people laugh (I hope) and if I don't, at least I'm not there to hear them groan. ;)

Scott said...

Love Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It came to the theater here many years ago. Absolutely fantastic. Of course, I love most musicals.

In writing, I can do anything, absolutely anything I want - magic, flying, deep sea diving, play the piano effortlessly (you don't want to hear my real world piano playing - trust me on that one), write the perfect query letter, always have a clean house, never have to go to the bathroom, and . . .

Unknown said...

Breathe under water. I actually haven't written about that but I think it'd be pretty cool :)

Aaron Polson said...

Afraid of the dark? Sure. But in writing, the dark really does have monsters. Of course, I (i.e., my characters) can slay those monsters. Snip, snap, snout.

Unknown said...

Kiss an angel!

Kristen Torres-Toro said...

I love it! So great!

My latest novel is about the power of faith and the impossible becoming possible. I love it so much because of that aspect.

Tere Kirkland said...

LOL, what can't I do? I think you've just hit on the real reason I love to write. The possibilities are endless.
If I want my main character to be a human who was born a dragon and never knew her true identity, I can. It would take less research than to write a scene where a character is downhill skiing, which is something you'll never catch me doing.

Great post, Elana!

Unknown said...

I can travel through time. Also, pretend I am younger. But still have the smarts I gained while getting older. (Youth is wasted on the young. Not my quote, but I love it.)

Unknown said...

I love that I get to use all the baby names that I'm never going to get to use on actual babies.

Danyelle L. said...

*evil grin*
I get to transmogrify people. Nothing beats a good transmogrification in the morning. >:)

Unknown said...

It's all about the magic! Oh to be able to hold a little in my fingertips... Oh wait, I can! Off to write...

You hit on my dream. My #1 passion is to perform. I love it!

Windy said...

Have conversations with the voices in my head without being locked up in a straight jacket!

... oh and of course, control the weather!

Hilabeans said...

Underwater basketweaving. :)

hhs

ps - my word verification is "gyver" - all I need is a "mac" and I'm all set.

Eric said...

I really love Danyelle's answer. Ya Calvin and Hobbes!!

But you hit it precisely, Elana. We writers get to do ANYTHING. With my characters though, I find that I "allow" them to do things I am usually to intimidated (or physically unable) to do. Like being outspoken and completely confident. Or how about being able to work through their lack of self confidence so they come out like a stud in the end? And of course there is the obvious, like performing magic, being a ninja master, and shooting the wings off flies with a Glock.

Note: no flies were injured during the making of this comment.

Laura Pauling said...

I can travel back in time to other cultures. I can experience exagerrated scenarios that I find funny but wouldn't really happen in real life. - And then edit it before its too late! :)
Laura

Corinne said...

I'm similarly in love with Broadway. Singing! Dancing! It makes me all kinds of happy. Unfortunately, I'm similarly lacking in skill. Otherwise I'd be up on that stage in no time :D

Unknown said...

I forgot to mention I left you a little gift over at my blog. :)

Paul W. West, Author said...

A fun way to look at writing. Yes, I can create anything I want. In a way, I'm god to my characters. They do what I want. Maybe that's why I love writing. I want to be god! LOL.

Bish Denham said...

Well for me it's kind like been there, done that. I been in several full blown musicals and dance reviews, sang in a jazz trio and auditioned for a couple of recording bigwigs. However I realized I wasn't a night owl which is what you have to be most of the time in then entertainment industry, so I let it slip away. Without regrets.

More than all of that, I love being able to go anywhere in my head, either through reading or writing. It's free.

Susan R. Mills said...

I can be sixteen again. My daughter was in a production of Joseph when she was nine. She did not get her singing and dancing abilities from me. I was singing those songs for weeks. I even bought the CD. The music in that show is amazing.

Bish Denham said...

My word...lots of typos in my above comment!

Tamika: said...

I can be a millionairess! I can be a fancy glamarous writer spitting out bestsellers in my sleep!

Jen said...

Oh I am so many, many things through my characters but one thing stands out through them all. I always (ALWAYS) have a biting, witty, stick it to them so they have to stop their head spinning sarcastic retort when needed. I'm also able to tell people off in a way that is intelligent and mature and everyone applauds me and the offender tucks tail, hangs head, and feels the necessary shame.

Ah...to be my characters...

Happy Thursday,
Jen

Julie said...

I can have every first kiss I've ever fantasized about but never received...they're never as good in real life!

Angie said...

Fly a fighter jet, engage in aerial combat, and kick butt!

Stephanie Faris said...

I just love being able to create entire worlds...to give my characters jobs and clothing and whatever I want. There's something fun about that. I've never seen Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I always wanted to.

Elana Johnson said...

Shelli, that's always good. And Laura, I love the idea of traveling back in time. I'm all over that. And Julie - all that kissing! YES!

Controlling the weather sounds good to me, Windy. The baby names is a great idea, Karen! I need to do that.

Everyone has such great reasons for writing! :)

Tracy Loewer said...

I just love playing out all of the "what-ifs". So many possibilities, so little time!

Southpaw said...

Fly. Without the aid of an airplane.

B.J. Anderson said...

So fun! I would love to be an astronaut. Or be invisible. Or . . . yeah, I could be here all day. ;)

Leigh Hutchens Burch said...

...kiss boys other than my husband.

Corey Schwartz said...

SO FUN! And what great answers!

I could have an identical twin and we could play tricks on people.

Sherrie Petersen said...

I can travel through time, breathe underwater, hear other people's thoughts and fall in love all over again. Isn't it great being able to make the impossible real?

lisa and laura said...

Oh, Elana, you are a girl after my own heart and I swear I've said these exact words before. I freaking love musicals (favorite so far being Wicked) and I teared up during the opening scene of The Lion King on broadway. I will never live that down, by the way. I just get super-overwhelmed by the costumes, the music, the dancing, etc., etc., etc. Anyways, through writing, I've found an outlet. Even though I'll never have the chance to be on stage, one of our characters could! I find this really exciting!

Tina Lynn said...

I'm with Amber. It's all about the oodles of hot, hot guys that I get to kiss:) I get to kiss the prince at the ball...and I can still stay after midnight if I want, because I'm the fairy godmother:)

Jemi Fraser said...

So many things! Flying - maybe with/on a dragon, being an astronaut, being an artist with actual talent, being a professional athlete, being a scientist.

Christine Fonseca said...

Well, besides the obvious...I love to write because it nables me to emotionally explore the depths of human emotion I wouldn't normally get to experience. I have a blessed life - and while bad thing have happened, I have not been excrutiatingly tortured or tormented...but in my storis I can explore it. Every part of humanity I get to explore. And I LOVE it

Kimberly Franklin said...

Kiss lots and lots of hot teenage boys! (Which would be totally out of the question for me now, since I'm 26...that would be way gross.)

LOL.

Oh and I love the word kidlet...lol. Just love it!

Anonymous said...

Things I get to do in writing: Travel lots. Be funny. Be bold. =]
Have a gorgeous singing voice.

Unknown said...

My latest mc is a rock and roll girl. Something I used to dream about back in the day, until my ABSOLUTE lack of ability slammed me in the face. Couldn't sing. Couldn't play guitar very well at all. Looked like a nerdlet. But my mc rocks out!

Unknown said...

Time Travel!

Elana Johnson said...

I think I'm going to make a chart. It seems like flying and kissing boys and time travel are the winners. Well, at least now I know where all of our priorities are. ;-)

PJ Hoover said...

That is the best thing about writing, isn't it. When we get to know our characters so well, we feel what they do. Love this!

(and I get teary at everything, btw. there's no problem with this, is there?)

Icy Sedgwick said...

I got to kick off the Apocalypse, with the Four Horsemen and everything (see Checkmate). That's not something you get to do every day, is it?! Fiction is a wonderful way to explore new worlds...which ironically enough could be real, if the concept of multiple universes as proposed by physics is true.

sanjeet said...

I can also use my witty sarcasm in situations that cry out for snarkiness, but don't really work in the real world if I want to continue living here.

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